Examining the Over / Under betting odds, also known as Totals bet, for Super Bowl LI isn’t as easy to predict as one might expect. One of the sports bets that pundits seem to keep talking about is the massive point total being assigned to this game by line makers. Most offshore sports books have the 2017 Super Bowl game listed at 59 ½ points with each side of the line having the same payout.

With both offenses having the ability to put points up on the board quickly, defensive stats for each of these teams should be your main focus.
The Football Databases website lists the New England Patriots as the 8th best defense in the league. In terms of total points allowed this year, the Patriots have allowed the fewest points in the regular season with a total of 250 points. Compare this with the Falcons total points allowed, which is 406.

The Falcons give up an average of 25.4 points a game whereas the Patriots are only allowing 15.6. If you combine these two averages, the total points comes out to 41 points. This number is well below the 59 ½ point line being set by the sportsbooks. 

Both the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots are known for their passing attacks but with this in mind, the Falcons defense gives up 266.7 passing yards per game. This ranks them as 27th in the league in this stat. Compare this with the Patriots that give up an average of 237.9 passing yards per game. This ranks them as being the 12th best passing defense in the league.

When you crunch all of the defensive stats, it seems like this game could have hard time eclipsing the 59 ½ point O/U line being set by the sports books.